By Bassey Ubong
Despite the pain and anguish to immediate stakeholders of public universities, can the regular confrontation between Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and their sponsors have a permanent solution? And with hindsight, can any Nigerian point to one achievement following the 2022 eight-month standoff between the Federal Government of Nigeria and ASUU? The answer to the first question from an optimist’s point of view should be yes, if the sponsors appreciate the critical need for higher education.
An optimist should expect another yes, if members of ASUU explore other areas of funds generation outside allocations and indefensible charges on students which, in the near future, will place higher education beyond the reach of poor students.
It has become necessary to review the 2022 ASUU strike, because of approval of the national ASUU to Taraba State University branch to embark on an indefinite strike. One or two lessons from the temporary cessation of hostilities between ASUU and the major sponsor, FGN, may come in handy.
In 2022, Nigeria witnessed a lose-lose war on all sides when ASUU members stayed home for eight months. Other than the Minister of Labour, Chris Ngige, it appeared no other person went away with smiles after the verbal and ink guns fell silent.
Academic staff will continue to smart from unpaid salaries, which remain unpaid till date. Who knows, the Minister of Labour may want a third term and sustain his wins if his party’s flag bearer enters Aso Rock on May 29th 2023.
During the strike, many micro businesses, which depend, in some cases, one hundred percent on universities for existence, received mortal blows. Although Nigerians have an infinite capacity to adapt, we should wonder how the army of food vendors, owners of ‘business centres,’ photographers, books and stationery sellers around the univerisities, and several others survived for eight months without the 50kobo to N100 margin, which amount to much for them.
During the eight months, Labour Minister, Chris Ngige’s family, one can speculate, had the best food available in the market, while families of lecturers borrowed and begged for the poorest quality food. The Minister of Education exhibited studied silence while Ngige stretched and threatened, and at the end had his way. What did he know which the rest of Nigeria had no idea of?
One of the reasons, we can suspect, had to do with alternative academic staff unions which continue to float at the wings like wasps, with the hope of the collapse of ASUU if hungry members desert it. The Congress of Nigerian University Academics (CONUA) and Nigeria Association of Medical & Dental Academics (NAMDA) remain as brides-in-waiting, although it appears university teachers have been unexcited about their entrée and have stuck with ASUU despite terrible deprivations.
One can guess the Minister of Labour and Employment has been a fan of Robert Green, author of “The 48 Rules of Power” published in 1998. Rule 15 advises a ruler to crush a perceived enemy in totality, lest he or she resurfaces with time. President George Bush II of the United States used it when he went after Saddam Hussein of Iraq. The President slept well, one can guess, when the Iraqi dictator’s neck went under a guillotine.
One can claim ASUU sought for solutions as the strike dragged on and when the National Industrial Court made a pronouncement, the Union grabbed it with two hands as a face-saving measure. But the Minister, like most Victor’s, aappeared to need more than a last laugh. The academics were paid ‘amputated’ salaries and told to return to classes. This became a prelude to total subjugation, call it a final solution as some victors in history termed their ultimate push to quench particular fires under their butts. One needed to read the press statement by ASUU National Executive Committee (NEC) on the amputated salary paid to them after they rushed back to classes. The press statement established the level of emasculation of the Union at present. A mere whimper, the Union decried the attitude of FGN to treat high level academics like daily paid workers.
In the past the NEC would have pronounced an ultimatum and declared a warning strike. On this instance, no such thing showed up in the press statement released after what may have been an all-night meeting. The vanquished licked their wounds, while the victor swaggered ready for another punch.
Who loses in this annual celebration of tension and uncertainty in the academia? Leaders of tomorrow and the society bear the brunt of the back and forth, which add no value to the Nigerian system. Precedence has been set and future leaders will continue to slam stubborn academics (their teachers of yesterday!) with impunity.
But why would a bulldog of eight months become a whimpering house dog overnight? The answer nestled in a secret which ASUU appeared to have ignored years back. We hear as far back as 2020 the Registrar of Trade Unions in the Federal Ministry of Labour & Employment at present overseen by Chris Ngige had written to ASUU to draw attention to Part IV Section 39 of the Trade Union (Amendment) Act CAP 437 of 2004. The section requires trade unions to file audited reports with the office of the Registrar every year. The subsection on cancellation of certificate of registration specifies action if a union continues to contravene any provision of the Act, despite notification. What reason can the NEC of ASUU present to explain its failure to file the report and in the process walk itself into a trap? Guesses will be as many as members of the Union and ordinary citizens of Nigeria like us.
While ASUU decided to bluff, two new unions were registered by the Registrar of Trade Unions. CONUA and NAMDA coasted home on October 4th 2002 with certificates like the students they teach. These two unions appear to be waiting in the wings for the collapse of ASUU, an example being their rejection of the 2022 strike way back in March of the year. Are they sponsored by the government, or do they have genuine concerns about the way ASUU operates?
The answers cannot be ascertained all the more, so they appear to be a kingdom without subjects for the moment. But anyone who has read Chinua Achebe’s “Arrow of God” should be careful when they want to play games with people.
Another angle on the audited accounts arises from the possibility of some skeletons ASUU’s NEC may want to keep in the closet.
Donald Trump before and during the 2016 elections, and throughout his single-term tenure, refused to release the audited accounts of the Trump Organization for public view. Despite court orders his lawyers continued to fight against, directives for him to make public his income tax records as well as those of his businesses. This sustained questions as to his moral status and may have played a significant role in his bid for reelection, which failed in 2020. Has ASUU found itself in such an uncomfortable situation in which release of its audited reports will sink present and past officers of ASUU? The anus of the fowl becomes a matter for public gaze on the day of the great wind.
But more can be gleaned if the brushes around the palm fruit bunch are cleared by a skilled harvester. A concerned university teacher who has sworn he cannot join a rival union said he asked his colleagues some soul-searching questions during the prolonged strike: are university teachers face to face with payback time? Those of them who have access to allocations, can they account for the amounts they have received? How many lecturers make unofficial and destructive demands on students? Many levies have the capacity to drive girls into prostitution and boys into robbery. And can the tears of junior lecturers who have experienced the callous hands of their seniors be wished away? These misdemeanors are brushed away and given the euphemism or less offensive tag “university culture” when the tag should focus on things such as extreme application of self and time on research for momentous developments. We should ask when Nigeria, known worldwide as reservoir for the some of the most brilliant scientists will have a slot in the Nobel list.
We must agree that the government no longer provides means for tertiary education teachers to build personal houses. We must agree that car loans were stopped decades ago during the administration of Obasanjo-Yar Adua. But must students provide the money for those critical needs which public policy has denied workers? With respect to internal administration how many seniors sit on their juniors by way of denial of promotion and other privileges? Infractions are found in every system public or private but teachers are expected to be in the ‘ivory tower’ which should boast of the highest level of morality. Nor has the 2023 elections been of help to Professors whether they served Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) or just went out to vote as citizens or stayed at home.
But it may be necessary to consider the mindset of Minister Ngige. Did he believe resistance to ASUU demands and registration of rival unions to act as strikebreakers will end the ASUU bug for all time? Such a mindset will take some time to mature because academicians appear to be persons with will as strong as steel.
Did we hear Femi Falana (SAN) and others tell ordinary people like me to ignore the registration of the two new unions? Well, listen to Section 2 of the 2004 Act on registration of new, rival unions in any organisation: “No combination of workers or employers shall be registered as a trade union save with the approval of the Minister (of Labour & Employment) his being satisfied that it is expedient to register the union either by regrouping existing trade union, register a new trade union or otherwise howsoever, but no trade union shall be registered to represent workers or employers in a place where already exists a trade union.” The italics are mine, the first provides a harassed government leeway to fight troublesome unions, the second, to note literary writing style injected into legalese!
But Ngige must bear a crucial fact in mind – monsters often return to haunt their creators. CONUA has shown what it may be in the future when its tap root and the children have firm control of the ground. As published by the Premium Times the rival union has warned FGN to pay salary areas to its members because, via a letter and press briefing, the leaders disassociated the union from the strike way back in March 2022. Whether the members (membership unknown) did any work or stayed home like the devoted ASUU members, the CONUA has no interest.
At this point ASUU the bulldog of yore whimpers while the new kid on the block with official teeth barks. But let FGN ‘wise up’ to the experience of no less a being than the Almighty Creator. In Genesis chapter 6 verses 5 and 6 God Almighty in dismay watched the wickedness in the hearts and acts of human beings and regretted the decision to create them!
All of the above are to draw attention of ASUU and other workers’ unions to the minefield they navigate daily. Prudence and realism take people farther than barred fangs. Nigerians are constrained by the diverse acts of the people they elected into office to spare time and energy to join good causes such as demand for good wages by teachers. Imagine what cashless policy has done to the people! These diversions which include divide and rule tactics (the three major unions in Universities, Colleges of Education, and Polytechnics never see eye to eye) may in fact be deliberate and designed to keep Nigerians from efforts to coalesce and form a formidable force to confront the peoples’ tormentors. ASUU national and branches, as my primary school teacher taught me, look (hard, wide, and deep) before you leap.
Dr. Ubong, a public commentator and writer, lives in Uyo
